1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally relates to an elastomeric composition used to form an elastomer. The subject invention also generally relates to an elastomeric system and a method of making the elastomer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various elastomeric compositions have been investigated for use in industrial processes to form elastomers. Elastomers can be used in a wide variety of applications including both automotive and non-automotive components. Elastomers are non-foamed and comprise, for example, a reaction product of an isocyanate and a polyol and/or an amine. In the past, efforts to reduce levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with formation of the elastomers and with articles formed from the elastomers, to minimize production costs, and to provide elastomers having excellent adhesion to surface coatings have been unsuccessful.
The VOCs typically include organic compounds that evaporate into the air from carrier solvents for catalysts, UV absorbers, hindered amine light stabilizers, and antioxidants comprising styrenes, glycols, ethers, esters, toluenes, amines, phenols, and ketones. VOCs increase potential environmental pollution that may accompany the use of components and/or articles that emit VOCs. VOCs also typically increase odors in a passenger compartment of an automobile.
Production costs associated with elastomeric compositions and elastomers include costs spent on raw materials, costs for controlling an amount of water and humidity in storage vessels and a production environment to ensure an efficient cure of the elastomer, costs for extra labor necessary for adding powdered raw materials, and time expended on inefficient reactions of the polyol and the isocyanate.
As is well known in the art, the reaction of the polyol and the isocyanate typically proceeds slowly, thereby decreasing a cost effectiveness of the reaction. As a result, catalysts are used to increase the rate of the reaction. The catalysts may include organotin compounds, zinc carboxylates, bismuth carboxylates, amines and organomercury compounds.
Many of these catalysts not only increase the rate of the reaction of the polyol and the isocyanate, but also catalyze a reaction of the isocyanate with any water and humidity present in the production environment, which is undesirable. Water and humidity, if present, are known to react with the isocyanate to form gaseous carbon dioxide. The formation of gaseous carbon dioxide leads to a formation of voids and blisters in the elastomer, which decreases structural integrity and density of the elastomer. As such, production costs associated with forming the elastomers are also high due to the need to remove water and humidity from the production environment.
Many of these catalysts are also deactivated when exposed to water and humidity. As a result, any water or humidity present in the production environment not only reacts with the isocyanate, but also deactivates the catalyst and prevents any further use of the catalyst. This potential deactivation of the catalyst requires more catalyst to be used in the reaction of the polyol and the isocyanate. Consequently, using more catalyst in the reaction increases production costs.
Efforts have been made to simultaneously reduce water and humidity present in the reaction vessels and to minimize production costs. One effort includes the addition of powdered particulates such as moisture scavengers, molecular sieves, and fumed silica to the isocyanate, the polyol, and/or the amine to absorb any water and humidity present. However, the addition of powdered particulates, although useful for absorbing water and humidity and for decreasing formation of the gaseous carbon dioxide, is expensive and increases production costs.
Additionally, many elastomeric compositions form elastomers that do not sufficiently adhere to surface coatings. Many elastomers formed from elastomeric compositions of the related art have appearance defects and increased delamination of the surface coating and contribute to decreased customer satisfaction.
Due to the inadequacies of the existing elastomeric compositions, there remains an opportunity to provide an elastomeric composition having reduced VOC emissions, minimized production costs, and excellent adhesion of elastomers formed from the elastomeric composition to surface coatings.